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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. field — a subject
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. race — a contest
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bound — tied together
  13. tear — from crying
  14. press — to push
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. field — for sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bound — obliged
  24. field — farmland

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com